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With planning a wedding, there are so many expenses to think about. There are big things like the venue, catering, flowers and photography, but the things that sneak up on you are the little things such as hair, makeup, gifts, and accessories for the day of. I am not saying what I do is what every bride should do, but if you are newly engaged you are going to have a lot of decisions to make on being what you should get your wedding party as a thank you gift.

I have heard from multiple people that the gifts they have received for being in a wedding are sitting in a drawer, were sort of cheesy, or could possibly be long gone in the trash by now. I decided very early on that for my bridesmaids I did not want to get them cheap jewelry, or a mug with their initials on it, but rather, I would pay for them to get pampered on the day of the wedding. In some weddings I have been part of it was sort of an awkward conversation of, “Do you want me to make you an appointment to get your hair done?” and then asking, “I am having my makeup done, do you want yours done also,” and then as a bridesmaid you feel awkward asking, “Are you paying, or am I.” Well, in my situation, I want to pay for them to sit back, relax, sip mimosas and have their hair and makeup done as my gift to them to say thank you for standing by my side.

Now you may be asking – how do you present this as a gift? And when do you tell them, because this gift would need be discussed long before the day of the wedding. After talking with a few friends who have been recently married I got some great ideas. Feel free to take this and run with it because my bridesmaids loved it.

Our wedding is in June and by January I had sent and delivered all of my “glam bags” explaining my gift. I got really cute bags from Target and stuffed the bags with shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, mascara, and makeup remover wipes. Inside of the bag, I added a thank you card that said, “Thanks for saying yes to waking up early with me on my wedding day. As my gift to you, I am going to pay for you to relax, sip mimosas, and get your hair & makeup done!” On the outside, I made a tag that read, “You’ve been glammed!” I sent these off six months in advance so that all of my bridesmaids would know that they do not need to worry about paying for it and wouldn’t need to contact their hair or makeup artist to help on the day of.

There are plenty of do’s and do not’s for wedding planning, but after looking at so many things, this is something I really wanted to share with newly engaged women as something that your bridesmaids will love and appreciate.